N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law Section 402
Distinctive number

  • form of number plates
  • trailers

Mentioned in

Driving a Car With Fraudulent or Obscured Plates Is Already Illegal But the City Council Wants to Make It Double Illegal

Hell Gate, June 26, 2023

“A stroll down virtually any New York City street will confirm what officials and advocates acknowledge: The past few years have seen an explosion in ‘ghost cars’…”
 
Bibliographic info

1.

(a) No person shall operate, drive or park a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state unless such vehicle shall have a distinctive number assigned to it by the commissioner and a set of number plates issued by the commissioner with a number and other identification matter if any, corresponding to that of the certificate of registration conspicuously displayed, one on the front and one on the rear of such vehicle, each securely fastened so as to prevent the same from swinging and placed, whenever reasonably possible, not higher than forty-eight inches and not lower than twelve inches from the ground; provided, however, that in any registration year for which only one number plate is issued, such number plate shall constitute a set of number plates for the time in which such use is authorized, shall be displayed on the rear of the vehicle and none shall be displayed on its front, except in case of a tractor, when such number plate shall be displayed on the front of the vehicle and none shall be displayed on its rear.

(b)

(i) Number plates shall be kept clean and in a condition so as to be easily readable and shall not be covered by glass or any plastic material.

(ii)

Number plates shall not be knowingly covered or coated with any artificial or synthetic material or substance that conceals or obscures such number plates or that distorts a recorded or photographic image of such number plates.

(iii)

The view of such number plates shall not be obstructed by any part of the vehicle or by anything carried thereon, except for a receiver-transmitter issued by a publicly owned tolling facility in connection with electronic toll collection when such receiver-transmitter is affixed to the exterior of a vehicle in accordance with mounting instructions provided by the tolling facility.

2.

Such number plates shall be of such material, form, design and dimensions and contain or set forth such distinguishing number or other identification marks as the commissioner shall prescribe, provided, however, that there shall be at all times a marked contrast between the color of the number plates and that of the numerals or letters thereon, and provided further that no vehicle shall display the number plates of more than one state at a time except where the vehicle is required to be registered in more than one state, and provided further that the number plates of a rental vehicle shall not display any indication of the rental status of such vehicle nor shall any plate be used other than those issued by the commissioner.

3.

No person shall operate or drive a motor vehicle drawing a trailer on the public highways of the state, unless such trailer shall have a distinctive number assigned to it by the commissioner and a number plate issued by such commissioner with a number corresponding to that of the certificate of registration displayed and fastened on the rear in the manner provided for number plates on the rear of a motor vehicle. The provisions of subdivision two of this section relating to number plates for motor vehicles shall apply to number plates for any such trailer. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply when a newly constructed trailer is being drawn to or from a weighing station solely for the purpose of determining the weight thereof.

4.

No person shall operate or drive a motor vehicle upon the public highways of this state having displayed thereon number plates not proper for such vehicle under the provisions of this chapter and, upon a conviction for this offense, the number plates shall be surrendered to the court for delivery to the commissioner. The failure to produce the certificate of registration or registration renewal stub of a vehicle shall be presumptive evidence of displaying number plates not proper for the vehicle. Every annual number plate issued shall remain the property of the state until the correct registration fee is paid. Every number plate of a permanent nature for use with a removable date tag which shall be issued shall remain the property of the state unless and until the commissioner finds that the state no longer has use for it. Number plates belonging to the state shall be under the control of the commissioner.

5.

No person shall knowingly authorize or permit a number plate issued for a motor vehicle or trailer owned and registered by him to be displayed on any motor vehicle or trailer other than a motor vehicle or trailer to which such number plate has been assigned by the commissioner, or upon which such number plate may legally be displayed under a temporary certificate of registration issued by a dealer under the provisions of § 420 (Transfer of registration)section four hundred twenty of this chapter.

6.

No owner shall knowingly cause or permit a vehicle owned by him to be operated, driven or parked upon the public highways of this state in violation of this section. Any violation of this section that occurs while a motor vehicle is parked on the public highways of this state shall constitute a parking violation.

7.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, association, limited liability company or corporation to sell, offer for sale or distribute any artificial or synthetic material or substance for the purpose of application to a number plate that will, upon application to a number plate, distort a recorded or photographic image of such number plate.

8.

A violation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than twenty-five nor more than two hundred dollars, except that a violation of subparagraph (ii) or subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision one of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not less than fifty nor more than three hundred dollars.

Source: Section 402 — Distinctive number; form of number plates; trailers, https://www.­nysenate.­gov/legislation/laws/VAT/402 (updated Nov. 5, 2021; accessed Apr. 27, 2024).

401
Registration of motor vehicles
401‑A
In-transit permits
401‑B
Registration of tow trucks
402
Distinctive number
402‑A
Facsimile license plates
403
Number plates continued
403‑A
Temporary indicia of registration
403‑B
Sales of special number or distinctive license plates by certain dealers
404
Issuance of special number plates
404‑A
Registration of motor vehicles of severely disabled persons
404‑AA
Distinctive plates for members of the Catholic War Veterans of America
404‑B
Distinctive plates for volunteer firefighters
404‑BB
Distinctive Cystic Fibrosis Foundation license plates
404‑C
Distinctive plates for former prisoners of war
404‑CC
Distinctive “Cure Childhood Cancer” plates
404‑D
Distinctive plates for members of the organized militia and reserve
404‑DD
Distinctive plates for members of AMVETS
404‑DD*2
Mental illness anti-stigma license plates
404‑E
Distinctive plates for purple heart recipients
404‑EE
Distinctive “West Indian American Day Carnival” license plates
404‑EE*2
Distinctive Down’s syndrome awareness license plates
404‑EE*3
Distinctive “September eleventh, two thousand one remembrance” license plates
404‑EE*4
Distinctive “Jamaican bobsled team” number plates
404‑F
Distinctive plates for members of volunteer ambulance services
404‑G
Distinctive plates bearing the words “Birthplace of Baseball”
404‑H
Distinctive plates for members of the Jewish War Veterans of America
404‑I
Distinctive plates for gold star mothers
404‑J
Registration and issuance of special number plates for veterans who survived the Pearl Harbor attack
404‑K
Distinctive plates for Marine Corps League members
404‑L
Distinctive regional design plates
404‑M
Distinctive license plates commemorating the World University Games
404‑N
Issuance of distinctive conservation plates
404‑O
Distinctive “Olympic Spirit” license plates
404‑OO
Deposit of service charges for distinctive license plates
404‑P
Distinctive “Animal Population Control Fund” license plates
404‑P*2
Distinctive plates for congressional medal of honor recipients
404‑Q
Distinctive “drive for the cure” license plates
404‑Q*2
Distinctive plates for the council on the arts
404‑R
Distinctive “foreign organization” license plates
404‑R*2
Distinctive plates for New York state licensed dentists who are members of the New York State Dental Association
404‑S
Issuance of distinctive “I Love New York” plates
404‑S*2
Issuance of distinctive plates for agriculture
404‑S*3
Distinctive “drive out diabetes” license plates
404‑S*4
Distinctive plates for the Saratoga national cemetery honor guard association
404‑T
Distinctive marine and coastal district of New York license plates
404‑T*2
Distinctive conserve habitat license plates
404‑T*3
Distinctive “peace at home” license plates
404‑U
Distinctive “keep kids drug free” license plates
404‑U*2
Distinctive “national multiple sclerosis society” license plates
404‑U*3
Distinctive gift of life license plates
404‑U*4
Distinctive “Erie canal” license plates
404‑V
Distinctive plates for water rescue team members
404‑V*2
Distinctive plates for the United States Naval Armed Guard
404‑V*3
Distinctive plates for the arts and cultural institutions and museums
404‑V*4
Distinctive plates for members of the Eighth Air Force Historical Society
404‑V*5
Issuance of distinctive “Discover Queens” license plates
404‑V*6
Distinctive autism awareness license plates
404‑V*7
Distinctive “Love your library” plates
404‑W
Distinctive plates for war on terror veterans
404‑W*2
Distinctive plates for Persian Gulf veterans
404‑X
Distinctive “Ducks Unlimited” license plates
404‑Y
Distinctive plates for veterans of the Iraq War and veterans of the Afghanistan War
404‑Y*2
Distinctive “Appalachian Trail” license plates
404‑Y*3
Distinctive plates for members of the Kiwanis International
404‑Y*4
Distinctive plates for conspicuous service cross recipients
404‑Y*5
Distinctive lupus awareness license plates
404‑Y*6
Distinctive sickle cell disease awareness license plates
404‑Z
Distinctive “Elks Association” license plates

Accessed:
Apr. 27, 2024

Last modified:
Nov. 5, 2021

§ 402’s source at nysenate​.gov

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